Hyderabad varsity startup develops stem cell-based treatment for Covid-19

HYDERABAD: A biotech startup company, incubated at the ASPIRE-Technology Business Incubator (ASPIRE-TBI), University of Hyderabad (UoH), on Monday announced a human umbilical cord (UC) tissue harvested and clinically processed adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) based therapy for Covid patients.

Transcell Oncologics has developed a proprietary cell-based platform technology, HEMATO UC-MSCs, with anti-cytokine storm properties, anti-inflammatory attributes and repairing abilities.

The treatment is associated with a significant decrease in a set of inflammatory cytokines involved in the Covid-19 ‘cytokine storm’, with significantly improved patient survival and time to recovery.

The research recommends HEMATO UC-MSCs to be administered as “two intravenous infusions, at a dose of 100 million cells per infusion, given 72 hours apart to the Covid patients”.

Subadra Dravida, Founder CEO, Transcell, said, “The advantage of the therapy is this new way of curing covid patients in real time to SAVE them and NOT to treat the symptoms alone. Also, if HEMATO UC-MSCs are administered as the first line of treatment followed by concomitant steps to alleviate the associated symptoms in a traditional way, Covid deaths can be dodged”.

HEMATO UC-MSCs can be delivered pan India within 48 hours and have been specially treated for storage under 2-8-degree Celsius refrigerated conditions for of use by the practitioners within 72 hours.

The effectiveness of this MSC based technology has been confimed by the Cell Transplant Centre, Miami Miller School of Medicine, Jackson Health System, Department of Public Health Sciences, USA, on Covid-19 patients suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).

It has released a detailed research paper on a randomised controlled trial and confirmed the laboratory findings from Transcell Oncologics.

Source: IANS